1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crystal liquid drop fill device which is preferably used for manufacturing a liquid crystal panel, and a method for drop filling liquid crystal by the use of the device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a liquid crystal display device including a liquid crystal panel is widely used as a flat-screen display device. The liquid crystal panel includes liquid crystal which is sealed in between two glass substrates having electrodes, and a voltage is applied to the liquid crystal so as to display an image. The liquid crystal panel is manufactured by bonding the two glass substrates via a sealing agent which is applied to either of the glass substrates so as to surround a display region having the shape of a rectangle, and the space formed by the two bonded glass substrates and the sealing agent are sealed with the liquid crystal. The liquid crystal is drop filled in the display region surrounded by the sealing agent on the glass substrate by a liquid crystal drop fill device before the two glass substrates are bonded.
Generally, in manufacturing this kind of liquid crystal panel, a plurality of liquid crystal panels are manufactured from one huge mother glass (a large-size glass substrate from which a plurality of liquid panels are to be obtained), and up to the midway of the manufacture of the liquid crystal panels, arrangements for the manufacture such as forming a plurality of wiring patterns for the liquid crystal panels are made while the liquid crystal panels are left on the mother glass. Drop filling of the liquid crystal which is described above is also performed while the liquid crystal panels are left on the mother glass.
FIG. 3 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional liquid crystal drop fill device. As illustrated, a liquid crystal drop fill device 20 includes a stage 3 which is arranged to support a glass substrate 2, a first liquid crystal dispenser 4 and a second liquid crystal dispenser 5 which are arranged to drop fill liquid crystal on the glass substrate 2 supported by the stage 3, a first moving unit 6 which is arranged to support the first liquid crystal dispenser 4 and the second liquid crystal dispenser 5 so as to be movable in a Y-direction (a moving direction of the liquid crystal dispensers 4 and 5 when dispensing the liquid crystal), second moving units 7 and 8 which are arranged to respectively support the first liquid crystal dispensers 4 and 5 so as to be movable independently in an X-direction (the direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the liquid crystal dispensers 4 and 5 when dispensing the liquid crystal), and a control system (not shown) which controls operations of these constituent members. On the glass substrate 2, regions 21 and 22 of a size in which the liquid crystal is to be drop filled are prepared by being surrounded by a sealing agent 2a. 
The liquid crystal in the shape of a water droplet is drop filled on the glass substrate 2. The first liquid crystal dispenser 4 and the second liquid crystal dispenser 5 dispense the liquid crystal at established time intervals, so that the drops of the liquid crystal dispensed on the glass substrate 2 are arranged at regular intervals in the X-direction and Y-direction. In the liquid crystal drop fill device 20, the glass substrate 2 is secured to the stage 3, and the first liquid crystal dispenser 4 and the second liquid crystal dispenser 5 are arranged to be moved in the X-direction and Y-direction so as to dispense the liquid crystal at established intervals.
FIG. 4 is a view showing a pattern of the liquid crystal to be dispensed in the liquid crystal drop filled regions 21 and 22. As illustrated, fifty-five positions starting from a position C1 to a position C55 at which the liquid crystal is to be dispensed are arranged at regular intervals. The position C1 indicates the first position, and the position C55 indicates the last position. The first liquid crystal dispenser 4 and the second liquid crystal dispenser 5 are moved in relation to each other in sequence in the directions of the arrows in FIG. 4 from the position C1 relative to the glass substrate 2, and dispense a predetermined amount of the liquid crystal at each of the positions in the liquid crystal drop filled regions 21 and 22. As a prior art literature relating to the present invention, Japanese Patent Application Unexamined Publication No. 2004-90621 is cited, which discloses fixed-nozzles in a plurality of rows placed in parallel, from which liquid is discharged.
In recent years, accompanied by increases in the size of a screen for a liquid crystal display device used in a liquid crystal television set, the size of a liquid crystal panel is increased in variety, so that there is a problem concerning utilization efficiency of a mother glass. For example, if a mother glass of a size such that two liquid crystal panels of a size A can be obtained therefrom leaving the small remainder which is a portion not used for the liquid crystal panels is used to obtain two liquid crystal panels of a size B smaller than the size A, the larger remainder is undesirably left, or if the mother glass is used to obtain a liquid crystal panel of a size C larger than the size A, one liquid crystal panel is only obtained and the still larger remainder is left undesirably.